All national parks now protected from mining
Hon Steve Chadwick
Minister of Conservation
9 October
2008 Media Statement
All national parks now
protected from mining
All national parks will now be protected from mining, Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick announced today.
“The Labour-led government is updating the law to extend protection to Kahurangi and Rakiura national parks, as well as several additions to other national parks, 24 marine reserves, two wilderness areas and three reserves,” Steve Chadwick said.
“While the primary reason for these changes is to protect our unique natural heritage, this update will also provide local communities and the minerals industry with certainty that mining activities cannot take place in these areas.”
The list of public conservation areas for which mining access is restricted is contained in Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act 1991, which was added to the Act in 1997.
Schedule 4 currently only applies to public conservation areas that existed in 1991, but can be added to by the joint recommendation of the Ministers of Energy and Conservation.
“The schedule will now be consistent with the primary purpose of the additional areas and their management plans.
“Since consultation began on these additions, the government has created six further marine reserves and a number of other protected areas. We will soon begin consultation on whether these new areas should also be added to Schedule 4.
“At the same time, we intend to consult on a proposal to simplify the application of Schedule 4 by making it ‘opt out’ rather than ‘opt in’. This would mean that the schedule would automatically apply to generic protected categories, such as national parks and marine reserves, unless a particular area is specifically excluded,” Steve Chadwick said.
The changes are gazetted today and come into effect in 28 days time.
List of additional areas and further information attached.
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What are the restrictions imposed by
Schedule 4?
Listing an area on Schedule 4 of the
Crown Minerals Act means that the Minister of Conservation
is not allowed to grant mining access to that area, except
for minimum impact activities.
What do
these restrictions do then?
The normal operation of
the Crown Minerals Act provides that the Minister of
Conservation can prevent access for inappropriate mining in
protected areas, but it does not provide the community or
the minerals industry with certainty about the Minister’s
decisions. Also, there is no provision for public
consultation and considerable discretion is left to the
Minister. The Schedule 4 restrictions provide certainty
that mining activities cannot take place in the listed
areas.
Does Schedule 4 apply to pounamu?
Not to
pounamu that lies within the rohe of Ngai Tahu as that
pounamu belongs to Ngai Tahu and is not a Crown owned
mineral.
Have all areas within national parks now been
added to Schedule 4?
Effectively yes – 99.9% of
national park land is now within Schedule 4. There are
small pockets of land from minor boundary changes to
national parks that have not been included, in order to
simplify the consultation and gazettal process required for
additions to the schedule.
Is there any
loss of existing mining access and rights?
No
existing mining activities are affected by the new additions
to Schedule 4.
Some existing prospecting and exploration activities extend across parts of the areas involved, and in some cases access has been granted by the Minister of Conservation. That does not give any legal expectation that access would be granted for mining.
Underground mining in national parks and other land areas may still be possible if the mine entrances can be located outside the park/area boundaries and surface effects are minimal. Mine ventilation shafts and emergency exits are allowable within these restrictions.
For small marine reserves, potential oil and gas resources beneath the seabed can be readily accessed from outside the reserves through directional drilling methods.
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List of areas being added to Schedule 4
Marine Reserves
• Kapiti
Marine Reserve Wellington
• Tuhua (Mayor Island)
Marine Reserve Bay of Plenty
• Whanganui-A-Hei
(Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve Coromandel
• Long
Island-Kokomohua Marine Reserve Marlborough Sounds
•
Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve Fiordland
•
Te Awaatu Channel (The Gut) Marine Reserve Fiordland
•
Tonga Island Marine Reserve Nelson
• Westhaven (Te
Tai Tapu) Marine Reserve Nelson
• Long Bay-Okura
Marine Reserve Auckland
• Motu Manawa-Pollen Island
Marine Reserve Auckland
• Te Angiangi Marine
Reserve Hawkes Bay
• Pohatu Marine
Reserve Akaroa
• Te Tapuwae o Rongokako Marine
Reserve East Coast
• Auckland Islands–Motu Maha
Marine Reserve Sub-Antarctics
• Ulva Island (Te
Wharawhara) Marine Reserve Stewart Island
• Te Hapua
(Sutherland Sound) Marine Reserve Fiordland
• Hawea
(Clio Rocks) Marine Reserve Fiordland
• Kahukura
(Gold Arm) Marine Reserve Fiordland
• Kutu Parera
(Gaer Arm) Marine Reserve Fiordland
• Taipari Roa
(Elizabeth Island) Marine Reserve Fiordland
• Moana
Uta (Wet Jacket Arm) Marine Reserve Fiordland
•
Taumoana (Five Finger Peninsula) Marine
Reserve Fiordland
• Te Tapuwae o Hua (Long Sound)
Marine Reserve Fiordland
• Te Matuku Marine
Reserve Auckland
Land Areas
•
Arthur’s Pass National Park
additions Canterbury
• Kahurangi National
Park Northwest Nelson
• Kahurangi National Park
addition Northwest Nelson
• Paparoa National Park
western additions West Coast
• Paparoa National Park
eastern additions West Coast
• Rakiura National
Park Stewart Island
• Westland National Park
additions West Coast
• Fiordland National Park
addition (Waitutu Forest) Fiordland
• Adams Wilderness
Area West Coast
• Paparoa Wilderness Area West
Coast
• Whatipu Scientific Reserve Auckland
•
Lake Tekapo Scientific Reserve South Canterbury
•
Tuku Nature Reserve (Chatham Islands) Chatham
Islands
ENDS